The Real Housewives of Orange County finally has a lesbian housewife. During an interview with GLAAD, castmember Braunwyn Windham-Burke opened up to the public about her queer identity for the first time.
“I’m finally comfortable enough to say I like women. I’m gay. I’m a member of the LGBTQ+ community. I’m a lesbian,” she told Anthony Ramos, GLAAD’s head of talent. “It has taken me 42 years to say that, but I’m so proud of where I am right now and I’m so happy where I am — and to be able to be comfortable in my own skin after so long is just so nice.”
Windham-Burke said she now feels OK sharing this part of her life publicly following a much-discussed kiss with former co-star Tamra Judge during Season 14 of the long-running reality program.
“I had a scene with Tamra that everyone kind of talked about,” she said. “When we were getting ready for the reunion, I was talking to a producer that I trust a lot, his name was James, and he said, ‘How do you feel about this? Was it a drunken mistake or is this a part of who you are?’ And I said, ‘This is who I am.'”
“When I went to the reunion last year I kind of started baby-stepping into, ‘This is who I am. I like women,’” Windham-Burke added, noting that she steadily began telling friends, members of the cast, and her family. Generally, she said, the news was well-received.
She also credited her journey towards sobriety this year with helping her come to terms with her sexuality and said she realized a lot of the reasons why she drank was because she didn’t feel comfortable with herself.
With the new revelation, the Real Housewives franchise now has its first openly LGBTQ+ housewife after nearly 21 years of airing on Bravo. Windham-Burke, who blogs about her experiences raising seven kids, first joined the Real Housewives of Orange County’s main cast in 2019. The new season is currently running on the network, but it is not clear whether or not her sexual orientation will become part of the storyline.
Following the interview with GLAAD, Windham-Burke’s husband of over 20 years, Sean, shared his support for her through a post in his Instagram stories. “I love you. I’m proud of you. And I support you. Always,” he wrote, captioning a photo of him and Braunwyn posing together.
The couple reportedly plans on remaining married and continuing to raise their children, even despite the fact that they’ll be seeing different people. Braunwyn, who is now dating a woman, and her husband were living apart from each other for a while as they worked on redefining their marriage.
“We’re finding a new normal,” she told Entertainment Tonight in October. “We’re renegotiating the terms of the contract when it comes to our marriage, for sure. We are [and] we will be married forever. We have 100 percent faith we are going to raise our kids and grandkids together.”
While Braunwyn Windham-Burke is the first openly gay housewife, the Real Housewives has had several queer people who aren’t members of the main cast make repeat appearances on franchise shows. During the November series premiere of the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, audiences were introduced to Brooks Marks, the first openly gay son of a housewife. Marks, who made an immediate impression with instantly memeable deadpan reactions, is a 21-year-old college student taking time away from studies to live with his mother, Meredith.
